


Come Full Circle

by Eternal_Phantom



Category: Exalted (Roleplaying Game), Scooby Doo - Fandom
Genre: But what put THIS combo in my brain, Gen, Like I know I'm a sucker for crossovers, i don't remember why I wrote this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26449717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Phantom/pseuds/Eternal_Phantom
Kudos: 17





	1. The Sun Brand

He was unimportant. He’d always been so but he never minded. Even his name originated from someone just yelling “Hey, shaggy kid, get over here!”

Some would be bitter, but honestly he enjoyed his life. He traveled from place to place, seeing much of Creation and all the wonders it held. Well most wouldn’t consider small back water villages ‘wonders’ compared to the ancient temples, giant magical structures, and such, but Shaggy loved them. Each one different having it’s own charm - and flavors! He’d sipped soup made from living-stone crocodiles in a small hut on the edge of the Wyld. He’d burned his tongue on the spicy corn chips in the deserts of south. He’d become a connoisseur of a hundred different kinds of fish while serving on a fishing boat in the Western Sea. Creation was full of flavors, and while he may never dine at the exquisite banquets of the noble houses, he was sure he’d gotten to try food the nobles had never heard of.

Of course, traveling had gotten a lot more dangerous in the past five years. While he was sure he wasn’t affected nearly as much as the Noble House, or other political factions, the disappearance of the woman who’d ruled most of the world for longer than he'd been alive had removed a lot of the security he’d felt. The Senate was pulling their forces inward. Without the Legion scouring the land for trouble it had risen in droves. Regular bandits were expects, but there were far more stories about hungry ghosts than there had been. Zombies were a much greater threat too, what with the Deathknight Mask of Winters completely conquering the city of Thorns.

And worst of all, the whispers of _Anathema_. The greatest Evil short of Hell itself. People whose souls had fallen so far they had become conduits for the most depraved of demons to work their wickedness on mankind. People might boast about killing goblins and other lesser fae creatures, or facing down hungry ghosts. But no one even joked about Anathema. If you saw a Sun or Moon brand on someones head, the only hope was you could raise the alarm before they killed you. You used to hear about one every couple of years of so. Now it was every week.

Shaggy shuddered and tried to put thoughts of undead, anathema, and anything else scary behind him. He was in a perfectly nice city to the northeast, far from the capital, but not too close to the barbarian tribes. A days work minding the yeddim and other farm animals and he had enough money for some good food.

He let his arm fall to pat his dog gently. It was a large hunting dog that had found him some years back. The dog had quickly become his best friend. A better traveling companion than anyone on any of the caravans he’d gone with. The dog was smart too, and Shaggy could swear he understood everything he said. “Come on, Buddy. Let’s get some food.” He couldn’t help but grin back at the dogs happy response. he supposed all dog loved food, but Buddy seemed to really appreciate it the way Shaggy himself did.

As he entered the local eatery, he noticed several people in red armor hunched over bowls of stew and hunches of meat. Shaggy felt a chill go up his spine. The Imperial Legion? Here? What could have brought them this far out? He glanced over their numbers but didn’t see any of the Immaculate Monks. Not a Wild Hunt then, at least. If there was an anathema around, he’d be out of town, good food or no good food! Still, maybe it was time to think of heading somewhere else.

He got two bowls of yeddim stew (one for himself and one for Buddy). He was barely halfway done when one of the Legionaries started complaining. “Damn the Threshold! I’m an Exalted, a Dragon-Blooded. Chosen by the great Earth Dragon Pasiap. Divinity among mortals. I should be enjoying the finest the Realm has to offer, not sipping bland soup in a moth-eaten inn!“

Shaggy and Buddy shared a look. As much as they hated to waste food, nothing good could come from sticking around angry Exalts. Both pushed their bowls aside and began to make their way out.

“Peace, Cathark Jayllen.” a dark skin woman scowled. Both her lack of fear and Blue Jade spear at her side indicated she was a Dragon-Blood too. “The Immaculate Scripts teach us to practice humility. You obviously need more.”

“Don’t talk down to me Tepet Marel.” Jayllen growled. “The situation of your House -Where do you two think you’re going!” The Earth Aspect stood up, Shaggy and Buddy freezing in their tracks. “You think you two can leave while I’m talking?”

“Ranting, more like it. And not even at them.” Marel stood up up as well, to stop her companion.

“Well, I don’t like the way that dog’s looking at me.”

Shaggy felt his stomach clench. _Please no!_

"It’s a _dog_ Jayllen.”  
  


“Not Buddy, please!” Shaggy begged. “He’s my best friend, he’s all I have.”

Jayllen shoved Shaggy aside, the mortal youth hitting the wall hard enough to knock his breath away. He looked up and saw the Earth Aspect’s fist raised, power crackling around it. The other Dragon Blood wasn’t moving fast enough to stop the first. He saw the fist began to rocket towards his dog and knew he had to do something.

Using every bit of strength he had, he pushed himself away from the wall and towards his friend. He saw the magic charged fist scant inches from his head as he scooped up the large canine. Then something seemed to shift in his perception. He ducked under the fist, sliding himself and Buddy out of the way.

Everyone’s eyes were on Shaggy with varying degrees of fear or rage. Most of the rage was from Jayllen, but Marel was now holding her spear and glaring in his direction as well. Even the innkeeper was making a sign to ward off evil against him.

“Look, like, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I just wanted to protect my do- ZOINKS.” Shaggy moved faster than he ever had in his life as the spear embedded where his head had been.

“Like, I think it’s time to split, Bud!” Shaggy declared, bolting out of the inn, the two Dragon’s right behind him. He tried to weave through the streets and alleys, and while they didn’t gain any ground, they didn’t loose any either.

Despite the speed he was running at, Shaggy managed to stop on a dime when the Blue Jade spear embedded itself right in front of him. He looked up to see the female Dragon-Blooded halfway up a wall, wind swirling around her. An Air Aspect.

Without even thinking about it, Shaggy jumped onto the spear, leaped to a nearby wall and through the second story window of a house. He knew it wouldn’t take long for the Air Aspect to follow, but the Earth Aspect would be slowed a bit.

Not wanting to loose that advantage by going downstairs, he leaped out a window on the opposite side of the house. From there he rolled right into another home, one he knew to be abandoned.

Hiding behind the purple curtain used in lieu of a door he waited till he heard the Earth Aspect run past. He waited, listening at the sounds of frustration when they realized they’d lost him. It wasn’t until they’d both marched past the door he was hiding in again that he breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was too close, huh Buddy?” He scratched the dog behind his ears “Like man, I don’t know what their problem was.” he stood up, rather easily considering he’d just fled at fast pace from two neo-gods while carrying a Great Dane. And he wasn’t even out of breath. “Adrenalin’s a hell of the thing, Bud.” Carefully he pulled back the curtain and, ascertaining no one was there, cautiously exited the building. “We need to get out of town quick.” Buddy nodded vehemently. “I mean, yeah, I disobeyed them, but they wouldn’t chase someone across multiple cities because he wouldn’t let them kill a dog, right?” Shaggy chuckled nervously, not actually sure of that at all. He heard stories of the Dragon’s pride.

“Good thing we don’t have anything to pack,” Shaggy chuckled. Say what you would about his lifestyle, it was hand for making a quick getaway. He turned to leave town and a flash of light caught his eye. Instinctively he turned towards it and it took a moment to process what he was seeing.

It was a window from the house they’d been hiding in. He’d caught a glimpse of light reflecting off it. Light that seemed to come from…his forehead?

He looked closer at the reflection. A golden ring was embossed on his forehead, with what seemed like pure sunlight shining from it. Shaggy’s face paled and he clasped his hands to his head, trying desperately to hide the light. The attempt was futile as it simply leaked through his fingers.

“ _Anathema”_ he whispered hoarsely. The Dragon-Blooded hadn’t attacked because he’d disobeyed them. They’d attacked because a Sun-Brand had appeared on his head.

Buddy whined at the word, leaning forward to nuzzle his human.

Shaggy jerked away. “Don’t come near me! Please! I’m…I’m a demon. I could hurt you. I don…don’t want to…” Tears began to spill down his face as the words became stuck in his throat.

But the dog persisted, his tongue wiping the tears away. “Rou’re rot a remon, Raggy.”

The young man froze at the words. “You can talk? Since when can you talk? Is..is understanding dogs a demon power?”

“Rot a remon!” Buddy insisted more forcefully.. “Re reed to ret rout rof rear.” He looked in the direction of the inn. “Re Ryld Runt ril rome.”

“The Wyld Hunt…” Shaggy whispered. The greatest warriors, sorcerers, and huntsmen in the Realm united for a single cause -killing Anathema. He gulped. “But, like, where do we go? I’m…” he put his hand to his head again, “…a bit beyond help.”

Buddy shook his head. “Ri row romeone.” He gestured away from the inn.

Shaggy swallowed the lump in his throat, his forehead still casting a strong light on the street. “I guess we can’t stay here…” He turned to follow his…dog? Was Buddy actually a dog? Could he really be a spirit or minor god? Or had Shaggy’s own transformation affected him as well?

The dog lead their way of of town with determination. Words were rusty to him, he hadn’t spoken a human tongue in over a decade after all. He’d rather have just continued to live as a dog, but Shaggy needed him. He didn’t know enough about Solars to really help, but he knew someone who did.

If anyone could help Shaggy, it would be Velma.


	2. The Circle

Scooby Doo had often been told he was a failure. He never believed it. Not when he was decreed a coward for not wanting to kill. Not when the Silver Pact told him Luna should never have Exalted him. Not when he was looked down upon by the few who recognized what he was for becoming a mortal’s _pet_.

Scooby may not have been the bravest individual, but deep in his heart he’d always felt killing was wrong. He’d never wavered in his belief, even as it saw him cast out.

Sick of the war between, well, it seemed everyone was at war with each other these days. Lunars fought Raksha, the Realm, the Undead, and anyone who got in their way. Raksha fought against everything in Creation, because they wanted it to be destroyed. The Realm wasn’t just fighting the Lunars, Raksha, and Undead, it was fighting itself too.

Scooby was sick of it. Luna had given him the form of a dog? Fine, he’d be a dog.

His initial plan had been to just be a lovable stray on the city streets, but then he met the kid. A scrawny little stick of a kid with no family and no home, taking whatever jobs he could to earn a days meal.

It certainly wasn’t a unique story, but what was unusual was that the kid wasn’t bitter about his lot. Not one bit. He enjoyed what scraps of food he could get and was fascinated by different flavors. Not to mention the kid was _thrilled_ by the big friendly dog who took an interest in him. He fed him half his food and one rare occasion when he’d actually had a little extra money, bought a blue collar for the dog he’d dubbed Buddy ‘Because you’re my best friend!’

He’d watched the boy grow from a child to a youth, now right on the cusp of being a man. A Lunar’s lifespan spanned several lifetimes. One spent as Shaggy’s pet didn’t seem like that bad a thing.

Five years ago, when the Empress disappeared, he’d considered telling Shaggy what he was. While he’d decided it was a good idea, he couldn’t find the right moment. What if Shaggy hated him for lying? What if he was afraid of what Scooby really was? Scooby’d seen the boy tremble at the mere _mention_ of Anathema. Would Shaggy believe him when Scooby told him it was just propaganda, or would his best friend - his only friend - believe Scooby was a demon?

For five years that fear had held his tongue, until tonight. When, for the first time, Scooby Doo had become a failure in his own eyes.

In his determination to live as a dog, he hadn’t studied or practiced the magics of being a Lunar, but he could still do the most basic of Lunar abilities- Shapeshifting. He could have become a giant monster and scared the Dragon-Blooded off. He could have shrunk to a mouse and scurried away from the blow.

But either of these would have exposed what he was to Shaggy and the thought of his best friend’s reaction froze him in place. He _might_ have been able to survive the blow through sheer toughness, but he wasn’t certain.

Thankfully Shaggy never gave him the chance to find out.

He felt his best friend grab him and pull him away and his first feeling was relief. Relief that was short lived when he saw the mark on Shaggy’s forehead.

The Sun chose his champions from those that had done incredible things. He knew that much at least. And a mortal getting in the way of a direct shot of an Exalt, much less getting away untouched, was most definitely incredible.

And Scooby knew, of all the choices he could have made, he’d made the wrong one. Because Shaggy was a simple person who’d loved his simple life. And that was now gone forever.

Guilt gnawed at him all through the wild chase through the streets. Did Shaggy even realized what had happened? He must have. There was no way he’d missed the fact that he’d rebounded off the haft of a spear into a second story window, right?

But when Shaggy first saw the Caste Mark Scooby realized, no he hadn’t known. Hadn’t even suspected. Every Celestial Exalt _hated_ the term ‘Anathema’. Scooby had never hated it more that when he heard Shaggy apply it to himself.

And now they were fleeing the city, the only light guiding them coming from the still-glowing Caste Mark. They went as fast as they could, which was significantly faster than it was earlier that day. In fact, with the threat of the Wyld Hunt on their heels, Scooby was struggling to keep up.

They didn’t stop running until the glow from the Caste Mark began to dim. It still sparkled in the night, but it was no longer bright enough to guide their path.

“Does this mean I’m going back to normal?” Shaggy asked, hopefully.

“Ro.” It was clear from the tone of the dogs voice that he hated saying it as much as Shaggy hated hearing it.

Shaggy sat down, though it might be more accurate to say he simply collapsed under the weight of the day. His hand again went to the mark on his forehead. “What do I do, Buddy?”

“Rards rirst.” Scooby insisted. Most things wandering the night wouldn’t mess with a Solar, there was far easier prey. Hungry Ghosts, though, weren’t discerning. They’d go after anything that moved and he wasn’t sure he or Shaggy would be able to drive them off, Exaltations or not.

“Wards. Right. Like, good thinking.” he pulled a pouch out of his pocket that contained a mix of salt and powder made from dried lily petals. One unbroken circle later, and no spirit would be able to cross.

It was relaxing in a way. Normal. Something they’d done every time they’d camped out in their travels. Still, he finished all too quickly, leaving questions and fears swirling around his head.

He felt the familiar feeling of his dog leaning on him, giving him comfort. But then his dog wasn’t just a dog, was he? “Buddy,” A thousand questioned whirled through his head. “How long have you been able to talk?”

The dog whined. “Role rime.” he admitted.

“Oh,” Shaggy deflated a bit. “Like, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Scared,” he admitted. “Ralking rogs raren’t…rormal. Rand…Ri ras rappy.”

“Yeah, I was happy too, Bud.” Shaggy admitted, scratching his ears. That reminded him of something. “Did you have a name, you know, before you met me?”

It took the talking dog a moment to answer. “Scooby. Scooby Doo.”

“Scooby Doo.” Shaggy repeated, memorizing it.

“Ru ran rill rall re ‘Ruddy’ rif rou rike.” Scooby offered. “Rou’re ry rest riend.”

“You’re my best friend too, Scoob.”

The Lunar felt a great burden lift from his heart. They stayed, huddled together in the center of the circle, until Shaggy finally fell asleep.

~

Being an Anathema was _weird_. (He knew Scooby hated that word, but he didn’t know another one.) He didn’t _feel_ like a demon. He hadn’t wanted to harm anyone or do any evil acts. But at the same time he felt…different.

Everything was easier. If he wasn’t paying attention he found himself walking completely silently, no matter what terrain he crossed. He moved more gracefully and far faster than he could before. Climbing a tree to get fruit was almost as easy as just thinking of it. And sometimes he moved so fast, it felt like he wasn’t moving at all.

The few times they stopped in small settlements to earn money for food (when foraging wasn’t good), Scooby had to keep reminding him (usually via gentle bumps) not to do his best anymore. As far as he knew the Legionaries had no idea which direction he’d gone off in, and he didn’t want them figuring it out. Besides just being ‘better’ he still had no idea what he was capable of. He wouldn’t stand a chance against a trained Wyld Hunt, and all he could do against Legionnaires was run.

At least the speed was helping with his travel time It would normally have taken a couple of months to reach the Scavenger Lands. They’d made it in a little over a week.

Though Scooby was still being careful about who could hear him, he was talking more when they were alone. And it should have felt strange, but it didn’t. Scooby was still Scooby, Shaggy was still Shaggy. And while the constant fear and paranoia of being discovered was an unpleasant addition to their lives, every once and a while Shaggy could pretend nothing had changed at all. It was him and his buddy on the road, just like it always had been.

If he wore his bangs longer to cover his forehead, that was simply a fashion choice. The Sun-Brand hadn’t appeared after that first night, fading as though it never was, but as long as he could feel the changes in himself, he wanted to hide his forehead as much as possible.

“Re’re rose.” Scooby announced. They’d gotten far off any trail; it looked like no one had come this way in a long time. That made sense though, Shaggy realized. Someone was was willing to help Anathema had to keep well hidden. They’d be publicly executed if they were found.

“So this friend of your, what’s she like?” Shaggy asked.

“Rart. Rartest rerson Ri row.”

“Well, she’d have to be to be able to help-” Shaggy cut off as the ground shifted slightly beneath him. Before his mind caught up to events, his body reacted, launching him several feet in the air and coming to rest on a tree branch. “Like your friend has a crazy security system,” he commented, trying not to think about what he had just done.

“Rit’s rew,” Scooby insisted, from where he had jumped aside, the ground beneath their feet emptying into a pit.

“Well, we’ll need to be more care-” Shaggy stood up and heard something click within the tree. He flung himself from the branch as streams of fire began to shoot out of the trunk.

And so it went. For each trap he dodged, another popped up. It was almost like a dance. It was strange, but almost….fun.

The fun ended abruptly when he heard Scooby yelp. The large dog was suspended in a net that seemed to be woven from golden threads.  
Shaggy tried to rush to the dog’s side.

He was cut off, however by a figure than seemed to appear from nowhere in front of him. She looked to be about his age with fiery red hair that somehow never fell in her eyes. She wore a purple gi top and matching shoes and leggings. The martial art garb was not for show as she stood confidently in a stance Shaggy didn’t recognize.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

A young man ran up. He wore a white buff jacket with an orange scarf-thing tied around his neck. “Why’d you do that Daph? I almost had him!”

The red head sighed. “You weren’t going to catch him, Fred.” She turned her attention back to Shaggy. “Answer me! Who are you and what are you doing here.”

“My name’s Shaggy.” he gulped. “Scooby said Velma could help me.”

“And who’s Scooby?”

“The dog.” came another female voice. “He’s an old friend, you can let him down Fred.” A young woman joined them. She wore square rimmed glasses and maroon scholar robes over an orange knitted shirt.

“Relma!” Scooby greeted happily.

“Hey Scooby, it’s been a while.” Velma greeted cheerfully. She then turned her attention back to Shaggy. “I’m happy to help a friend of Scooby’s, though I suppose you wouldn’t mind swearing an oath that you’re not going to harm us?”

“Like, sure…” He wasn’t sure how much an oath from an Anathema would be worth.

Daphne held out her hand. “You promise, right? That you aren’t going to harm any of us while you’re guests here?”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Shaggy agreed. He shook Daphne’s hand and felt…something. It tickled the back of his mind as being familiar, but he couldn’t place. Some sort of ancient magic, but he wasn’t sure how he knew that.

The three seemed to relax and Velma grinned. “I’m Velma Truth-Seeker. How can I help you?”


	3. The Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Velma gives a very good overview of Exalted History, this isn't 100% accurate. Some of it is her having to guess on things she couldn't know, and the rest of it is bias. She has something of Rose-tinted glasses towards the First Age, which weren't as great as she remembers. At least, not if you weren't a Solar.

‘How can I help you?’ Such a simple question. The whole reason he had come all this way was to get help.

But honestly Shaggy had no idea how Velma or anyone else could help him. He bit his lip trying to figure out what help he could ask for. “A-a Sun Brand appeared on my head,” He admitted. “And I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you want to do?” Velma asked calmly. As though he hadn’t just confessed to being one of the most hated monsters in the world. Maybe she didn’t know what a Sun-Brand meant? Her home _was_ pretty out of the way.

Maybe Scooby had brought him here because she wouldn’t know to take offense. But then how could she help?

“I just want my life to be normal again.” He decided. _That_ was what he wanted more than anything else. 

“Why on earth would you want to be normal?” Fred ask, confused.

“Why?” The question flabbergasted Shaggy. “Like, of course I want to be normal again. Why would _anyone_ want to be an Anathema?"’

The mood changed in an instant and Shaggy knew he had said the wrong thing. Velma and Fred were now glaring at him. His heart sunk. They _hadn’t_ understood what the Sun-Brand had meant. And now that they knew…

His thoughts were interrupted by two simultaneous _whaps_ and Velma and Fred’s heads bobbed forward.

“Get over yourselves, you two,” Daphne scolded. “This isn’t an Immaculate Monk. He’s one of us. He’s also _terrified_. And unlike you Miss Perfect-Past-Life-Memories and Mr. Raised-in-the-Northern-Threshold,” Scooby’s ears perked up. “He’s never had _any_ reason to doubt the Dragon-Blooded and their stories. Poor guy probably thinks he’s becoming a monster, and he came here for help. And now he thinks you don’t want to help him because he’s 'Anathema’.” She then turned her attention to him and Shaggy winced.

“It’s alright,” she said far more gently. “But please don’t use that word, even to describe yourself. It’s more than a little insulting, especially when you know the whole story.”

Shaggy nodded in rapid agreement. “Sorry, man. I just don’t know any other words for, you know, what I am.”

“Solars.” Daphne filled in. “We’re called Solars.”

Solars. It felt…familiar. Right. Wait-

“We’re? You mean, you guys?” He looked from Daphne to Fred to Velma.

Fred laughed. “Solars, everyone of us. I’m a Zenith, Velma’s a Twilight, and you’ve probably guessed Daphne’s an Eclipse.”

“I…don’t know what any of those mean.”

Velma raised an eyebrow at the Lunar. “Why didn’t you tell him? I know you know what Solars are called.” And probably the Castes, but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure of that.

The Lunar ducked his head. “Rorry.” 'He didn’t ask’ seemed a pretty weak defense. Of course Shaggy didn’t ask. He didn’t _know_ enough to ask.

Velma pursed her lips together, but let whatever was bothering her slide. Shaggy didn’t. “Why didn’t you _say_ something? If you knew what I really was, what it meant, why did you bring me here instead of telling me yourself.”

“Ri ron’t row ruch.” Scooby admitted. “Relma rows ruch rore.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, but-” Velma interrupted the two. “Scooby, it’s really impressive you’ve managed to learn to speak through a muzzle, but I’m struggling to understand what you’re saying.”

Shaggy didn’t understand what she was talking about, but Scooby seemed to. “Ro Ri rave ro?”

“If you don’t mind.”

It was apparent Scooby _did_ mind, but did as he was bid. His form flowed into a human one, a little shorter than Shaggy, but more solidly built. His skin was tan and his hair was the same brown color as his fur had been. In fact, now that he was looking, he thought he saw one of Scooby’s triangular black spots in the hair.

Shaggy opened his mouth to ask why Scooby had hidden this as well, but the answer became obvious before he could even ask. Scooby was _very_ uncomfortable in his human form. His shoulders were hunched slightly and he kept flexing his fingers like he didn’t know what to do with them.

He also didn’t seem to know what to do with his mouth as he kept opening it to say something, then closing it. Finally he steeled and asked him the question whose answer he dreaded the most. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Why in Creation would I be afraid off you?” Now Shaggy was just _confused_ at his best friends behavior.

“Solars is the term used from people with a Sun-Brand. Lunars is for the people with Moon-Brands.” Scooby explained.

A Moon-Brand? “Then…you’re an Anat-like me?“ Shaggy remembered at the last moment not to say the word. “Why would you think I’d be afraid? We’re in the same situation?”

“You were afraid of yourself.” Scooby argued back. “Why wouldn’t you be afraid of me?”

Okay, point. “Because you’re _you_.” Maybe it didn’t make sense to anyone else, but it made sense to Shaggy. Fred and Daphne shared a look.

“It is strange you don’t remember anything,” Velma commented. “I’ll admit my memories are clearer than most, but almost all Solars remember something from their past lives.” Though she supposed if she was on the generous side of the spectrum, there had to be someone on the opposite end. “Let’s go inside. There’s a lot to explain.”

They entered the Manse. It was definitely a reclaimed one from the first age. While parts of it were showing wear and tear, if was clearly built with a level of expertise that just didn’t exist anymore. There were sounds of ancient machines through he walls. And while it was a bit warm and humid outside, the inside was cold and refreshing. He’d never been in a place like this.

Velma led them to a sitting room where they each took a seat. While the Solars sat on the cushioned chairs, Scooby crouched down on the floor, arms in front of him like when he was a dog.

“Why don’t you change back?” Shaggy whispered. “I’ll translate anything Velma has trouble with.” Scooby just looked so awkward and uncomfortable in his own skin like this.

Scooby shot his friend a grateful look and changed back as quickly as he could. At home once more in fur and four legs, he relaxed against his best friends leg wagging his tail.

Velma sighed, but couldn’t deny Scooby seemed to be a lot happier as a dog. Well as long as the new guy was available to translate. Actually, “I never did get your name.”

“Oh, like, it’s Shaggy.”

There was a pause. “Just…Shaggy?”

He nodded.

“You know you could change it,” Velma suggested. “Fresh start and all that. You could do something based on your speed or agility.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Shaggy waved her off.

“Even a normal name, like Norville or something.”

“Norville?”

“You came from the North,” Velma defended. Okay, maybe not the best name, but it was the first one to pop into her mind.

“Look, my name, like, isn’t the fanciest. But it’s mine. It’s familiar. And I need all of that I can get.” No, he wasn’t changing his name anytime soon. And especially not to something as stupid as ‘Norville’.

Velma wanted to argue, but let it go. It was his decision, after all. And she had to admit, to herself at least, her reasoning was beyond out of date. Solars weren’t the Princes of the Earth anymore. Unlike the old days, where the idea that any Solar would be basically royalty, they couldn’t afford to so much as draw attention to themselves. Honestly a plainer name was probably better in the long run. “Well, Shaggy, I hope you’re comfortable, because this is going to be a long story. We’ll need to start at the beginning. And I do mean the beginning.”

She adjusted her glasses. “Our world, Creation, was made by a group of beings we refer to as the Primordials. They wanted a safe haven from the formless chaos of the Wyld. They made a place where reality was fixed and rules applied. There’s theories that our world was merely the end product and that other prototype worlds exist, but there’s no way to really prove or disprove that. To take care of the minutia of running Creation, the Primordials created the Gods, each with their own jurisdictions and varying degrees of power. The greatest of these were-”

The five Elemental Dragons. he may not have studied religion, but he knew that much.

“-the Celestial Incarnae.” Shaggy blinked. “The Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Five Maidens of Destiny. Still no matter how powerful they were, the Primordials weren’t fools. Each God was created with an absolute order that they couldn’t disobey or directly harm a Primordial. If the Primordials were good and just rulers, everything would be fine. But they weren’t. For the most part all the Primordials cared for was their own gratification. They didn’t care how many Gods or Mortals died to achieve it. They could just make more after all. There were two exceptions to this. Autochthon and Gaia. Autochthon was sickly and was often looked down upon and treated cruelly for it. He could empathize with us. Gaia was a truly kind soul for no other reason than it was her nature. She was the one who created life and she hated to see her people in pain.”

“Rhe ras ralso rin rove with Runa.” Scooby filled in.

“They joined the gods in a conspiracy to take down the Primordials. No God could defy the Primordials, but mortal beings could, since the Primordials thought them too weak to be a threat they never imposed any limits on them. That mistake would be their undoing.”

“Autochthon created the most powerful weapons he could forge for the effort. He called these ‘Exaltation Shards’. They’re basically a supplementary soul, aspected to different Incarna. 300 Shards were attuned to the Unconquered Sun. He chose to have his champions be paragons of what they already were. Humanity turned up to eleven. These 'Solars’ were the most powerful of the Exalted. 300 Shards were aspected to Luna. She chose her champions from those that were the most adaptable and had the best survival instincts. Lunar are natural born shapeshifters, taking other forms as easily as breathing. They also shared a bond to the natural world, plant, animal, all of nature, that keeps the grounded despite their protean nature. 100 Shard were split between the Maidens of Destiny. Their champions, the Sidereals were masters of Fate. They could not be surprised because they knew what was coming and could read the Loom of Fate, even change it in places. These 700 individuals were the heroes who liberated us from the Primordials.” She grinned. “One of the was you.”

Shaggy felt his mind go blank. “M-me?”

“All of us,” Daphne cheerfully added. “Velma mentioned past life memories earlier, remember? There were 700 Celestial Chosen. created and that number hasn’t changed. When we die we’re reborn, awakening to our powers only when we’ve earned them in our patron’s eyes. Each one of us fought in the battles before recorded history to make our world a better place.”

  
Shaggy felt a shiver go down his spine. For some reason the thought of him being a great hero was almost as scary as the thought of him becoming a demon.

“After creating the 700 Celestials,” Velma continued. “Autochthon decided we needed foot soldiers. So he created a lesser version of the Shards. Rather than a single point of power that would be born over and over, this was a lesser Shard that became inheritable. These shards were given to Gaia’s most powerful children, the Five Elemental Dragons to distribute. Those chosen inherited the elemental abilities of the Dragons and became known as the Dragon-Blooded.”

“Wait, what?” Velma wasn’t saying what he thought she was, was she?

“The Immaculate Order states that people are reincarnated based on their level of virtue.” Daphne stated, with the tone of one who has spoken those words many times before. “That the Dragon-Blooded are the highest level, the most spiritually pure a human can be before it transcends past reincarnation.” She braced herself “It’s a lie. As much as us being demonic is.”

“That’s not until later. We need to get through the Primordial War first.“ Velma went on. "Which was bad. 700 Celestial Exalts. Thousands of Dragon-Blooded. A unified force mightier that was ever seen before or again. And we were still the underdogs. This war lasted generations as we died and were reborn. Aspects of the world were turned against us and we turned them back.”

“Everything was weaponized, even Time on one occasion.” Velma rubbed her head as if to ward off a headache. “And then finally, FINALLY, we killed one.”

“Primordials were never meant to die. The act of doing so actually created the Underworld since they were never meant to be part of the cycle of Death and Reincarnation, but they had to go somewhere. Twelve more fell before the rest of the Primordials agreed to surrender. We sealed them away, using their own nature as their prison. They’ve never forgotten their defeat and long to be free. We call them the Yozis. They cannot enter Creation themselves, but their lesser aspects, demons, can be summoned. But while demons can be compelled to do certain tasks, at their core they want the Yozis free. Never trust one.”

“R-right.” So basically all demons had a personal grudge against him. Shaggy didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

“With the Primordials gone, The Gods took their place in Heaven and rewarded their Champions with dominion over the world. Solars ruled over humanity. Lunars were the masters of the natural world. The Sidereals stayed in Heaven and advised all groups. The Dragon-Blooded were the foot soldiers that kept the world safe. This time period is what’s referred to as the First Age.”

“The world then was so much _more_ than it is now,” Velma’s tone had become wistful. She clearly could remember it. “Magic and technology had advanced so much. There was no illness, no starvation. If you could dream it, it was only a matter time before you could do it. And then-it ended.” Velma’s voice turned bitter.

“We were betrayed. And by our own soldiers, no less. There was a feast. All 700 Celestial Exalted were invited, though not all made it. Most of the Dragon-Blooded were in attendance as well. Part way through, though, they just… attacked. Not expecting it, we were slaughtered. Solars were then main targets and died almost instantly. The Lunars fought, but were driven back to the borders of Creation.”

“Daphne and I, or Amyana and I at the time, were two of the ones who didn’t go.” Fred explained. “It was definitely planned out. Our Dragon-Blooded captains just…turned on us. I was out to sea with my Armada at the time. Amyana was at home in Luthe. We didn’t have a chance.”

And suddenly Shaggy was glad he didn’t have the past life memories everyone else had. To be able to remember dying so clearly… “What about the Sidereals? What happened to them?”

All Velma could do was shrug. “I honestly don’t know. There’s been no sign of them since the Usurpation.” One of three things had to have happened. The least likely was that the Chosen of Destiny had been annihilated without a trace. Given their ability to read fate, she found that very unlikely. The second option was that they had realized was was about to occur and had manipulated fate to avoid what happened to their brethren. Given the overwhelming force the Dragon-Blooded had used, it wasn’t unlikely they’d simply taken to hiding, working from behind the scenes until the traitors had forgotten them (which it appeared they had, since there was no description of Anathema with Star-Brands.) The third and most terrifying option was that the Sidereals were the true masterminds behind what happened. That they were responsible for the end of the First Age. She really hoped it was the Second. She couldn’t stand the thought of 100 brave Exalts wiped from the face of the Creation in betrayal. But the idea of the Fatemasters as enemies was chilling.

“The worst thing was that something stopped us from being reborn, or at least awakening to what we truly were. I was one of the lucky few who escaped, continuing to be reborn to a world without Solars, where Lunars existed far from civilization in the places where the Wyld touched our world. For two hundred years the Dragon-Blooded fought amongst themselves to etch out little kingdoms. But they didn’t know our magic or science. They couldn’t grow food in the desert or cure illness on a whim. Things began to get worse and worse. Then about 200 years later Creation nearly hit it’s breaking point.”

“A disease known as the Great Contagion spread like wildfire. It affected everything. People, animals, plants, anything alivedied. Quarantines did nothing, burning the bodies didn’t help. A vast majority of the world just dropped dead. And this got the attention of the Raksha.”

“Re Rair Rolk,” Scooby whispered.

“The F-F-Fair Folk,” Shaggy stammered, instinctively reaching into his pocket for the cold iron charm he’d gotten for when his travels brought him too close to the border.

Velma continued on. “They were originally the denizens of the Wyld and feel Creation is a tumor on it’s perfect Chaos. They want to unravel it and, to a degree, succeeded. The world is smaller than it once was. Thankfully the Lunars stood their ground, or they would have gotten their way. They almost did anyway, if not for one Dragon-Blooded General. She managed to get into one of our old Defense Systems and activate it. She used it to drive back the Raksha, then take command of all the remaining Dragon-Blooded.” Well, most of them. Lookshye’s Seventh Legion was famous for refusing to bow to her, after all.

“She dubbed herself the Scarlet Empress and built an empire consisting of almost the entirety of the world. She made a government that made it seem like people had a say, but really just let her pit them against each other. She created the Immaculate Order, a fake religion that secured her rule by saying the Dragon-Blooded were the most spiritually pure beings while we and the Lunars were demons. She created taskforces to slaughter the few of us who manifested. She ruled this way for over 800 years.”

“800?” He hadn’t thought the Scarlet Empress was the same one who founded the Realm. “Man, how long do Dragon-Blooded live for anyway?”

“2-300 years, normally.” Velma explained. “But it can be extended longer with magic.”

Okay, a few centuries was long, but not that bad. He could live with that. The idea that he could live for nearly a millennia scared him.

“Then, a mere five year ago, she vanished. And almost immediately Solars began manifesting again. Lunars began to make headway pushing the Realm back. but it’s not all good news. The Raksha are making renewed efforts and now for some reason the Dead have become militarized. We have more hope that we’ve had in nearly a thousand years. But things are also getting much more dire.” Velma shrugged. “That’s our situation now."

Shaggy just leaned back and slumped in the chair. This was too much. Waaaaay too much.

“It’s a lot to take in,” Fred agreed. “If everyone’s okay with it, you could stay here for a few days to get your feet under you.” He looked up at Velma and Daphne who nodded. Even the Lunars weren’t entirely pleased with the Solar’s return. They had forged their own kingdom in the Threshold and weren’t too happy that the old Kings might stake a claim on those kingdoms. All Solars had were each other.

“Like, thanks.” At least he had a roof over his head, right? That was something less to worry about.

Fred stood up and held out his hand. “Sigfried Cloud-Skimmer, but you can call me Fred, most people do. I’ll show you around.”

Shaggy let himself be led through the ancient structure. Fred showed him the important things like the kitchen and the bathrooms. He showed him Velma’s library, filled with tomes both new and ancient. Fred proudly showed off his workroom, with various traps being constructed. In the middle was a strange blue wagon. It definitely had some sort of steel base, but Shaggy could see blue jade in the paneling.

“It’s my pride and joy,” Fred showed off. “Runs off a single hearthstone, no need for anything to pull it. Easy steering and braking. Plus-” Fred reached in a flipped a few switches. The wheel on the wagon turned over and it began to hover. “It can fly over any terrain!”

Shaggy whistled. That was…incredible. “Man, no wonder you’re called Cloud-Skimmer.”

“Well, actually it was originally something about how my head was always in the clouds, but you know what? It worked for me.” He patted the side of the wagon. “I call it…'The Mystery Machine’.“

"I can see that,” Shaggy looked at the words painted on the side in Skytongue.

“He’s not naming any of our children.” Daphne deadpanned.

“Come on, Daphe” Fred pouted. “It’s not that bad.” Daphne merely rolled her eyes in response.

“Oh, man I didn’t realize you two were-”

“We’re not…exactly.” Daphne looked down. “It’s complicated.”

“Daph and I were married in our past incarnation.” Fred explained. “And…she’s really amazing. I just want to be sure what I’m feeling is, well, what I’m feeling and not something left over from when I was Kendrik.”

Daphne nodded. “I like Fred a lot, but the doubt is there. Give us time, we’ll work through it.” The happy look she sent Fred showed though, which way she wanted it to work out on.

“These past life things seem more trouble than they’re worth.” Shaggy commented. Remembering dying? Not being able to trust whether you actually liked someone? What could be worth that?

“It has it’s perks,” Fred reassured. “The Mystery Machine was designed using what I remembered from First Age tech. I wouldn’t have been able to build it otherwise. Velma wouldn’t be able to keep the ward up on this place. None of us needed to be told what we were (no offense to you). It’s hard at times, but I believe the good outweighs the bad.”

Shaggy shrugged. “So what are you guys doing anyway? Just hiding out or-” Huh, there really was no good way to ask if you were planning on conquering the known world.

“We’re not hiding-”

“We’re hiding a little,” Daphne gently corrected.

Fred sighed. “Okay, we _really_ would like to avoid being found and we don’t want to get in conflict with anyone. But we are being productive. Velma’s been gathering intel for _centuries_ , but what she could get is really limited. She didn’t have any help in her past incarnations, and it was a lot harder to avoid the Wyld Hunt.”

“There’s a lot that’s changed that we don’t understand. How the Dragon-Blooded kept us from reincarnating. How the undead seem to have their own Exalts. We’re trying to solve the mysteries that have cropped up in the world.” Daphne further explained.

That seemed benign enough. “What about other Solars?”

Fred thought for a moment. “Well, Bull of the North is the most famous. He’s uniting the barbarian tribes into a direct war on the Realm. I’ve heard there’s a Twilight named Arianna whose made it her goal to destroy all copies of the Broken Winged Crane. Er, if you see a book with that title, keep away. It’s kind of the ultimate evil manifest. Faka wants to liberate her people from slavery. Lyta targets Immacualte Monks-”

“Wait, like, the ones who run the Wyld Hunt? Why would she want to attract their attention?”

“She was, er, in training to be a monk herself when she Exalted.” Fred explained. “And promptly realized the truth of things due to her memories. She was…upset.” He had no love for the Realm, but he wanted to avoid getting anywhere near that roaring rampage of revenge if he could help it.

“But none of these help you. Shaggy, being a Solar doens’t mean you’re anything but yourself. We find a goal we care about and pursue it. No one can tell you what your goal is but you.” Daphne rested a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you get some rest? You don’t have to decide anything tonight.”

Shaggy nodded and allowed himself to be led to one of the spare rooms. He collapsed on a bed softer than any he’d been on in his life. “I don’t know about any of this, Buddy. I’m not a hero. I’m not passionate about anything. There’s nothing about me that makes this work.”

“Rhat’s rot rue.” Scooby insisted, nuzzling him. “Rou raved re.”

“Did you even need saving?” Shaggy inquired. Scooby’d already proved he was so much more than just a dog.

“Res.” he answered. “Ri roze. Re Ragon-Rooded rould rave rilled re. Rou really rid rave re.”

“Then I can’t regret this.” Shaggy smiled, albeit a bit shakily. “I just don’t know what to do now. Like, we could keep traveling, but man I did NOT like how afraid I felt whenever we ran into other people. And I don’t really feel a rush to see the world knowing I have a couple centuries to do so.”

Scooby debated correcting him. No, he’d done Shaggy enough damage staying silent. “Ronger.”

“Longer? But Velma said-”

“Ragon-Rooded rive a rew renturies. Re rive ronger.”

“H-How much longer?” Shaggy gulped. “Like, as long as the Empress?”

“Ronger. Ruch ruch ronger.”

“Oh.” the word sounded too tiny to Scooby’s ears. Long arms wrapped around him as Shaggy pulled him close. “I’m scared, Bud. I mean, I learned more today that I think I’ve learned in my entire life. But I’ve never felt less sure of anything. I’m a Solar, but I still don’t know what that means. And everything I find out just scared me more. Living practically forever. Being able to kill those Primordials-things. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know what I’m capable of doing. If I’m that powerful, what if I hurt someone by accident? I don’t-”

Shaggy was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. “It’s me,” Daphne’s voice came from the other side. “May I come in?"

"Like, sure.” Shaggy took a few deep breathe to calm himself as she entered the room.

“I just want you to know…I get it.” She explained. “In a way Fred and Velma can’t. The Northern Threshold is ruled by the Lunars; Fred was raised to believe the Realm and the Immaculate Order are full of yeddim excrement. Velma remembers the past perfectly. She _knows_ what she is and is comfortable with it. I…grew up on the Blessed Isle. The Capitol of the Realm. There was even a chance I could have grown up to be a Dragon-Blooded myself. I have the bloodline for it. I have sisters and cousins in both the Legion and the Wyld Hunt. Even when I was past the common age of Exaltation for Dragon-Blooded, I was being groomed for the senate. So, I understand what it’s like having your view of how the world works turn upside down. And how hard it is to get past the idea that you’re not a demon.”

“I know now that the state of the world _can’t_ stay the way it is, but at the same time, I don’t want to fight my family. That’s why I chose to stay with Velma. Because I still have hope that by learning all we can we can find a way to live in peace with the people of the Realm. So, it’s okay to feel unsure. You just need time to figure it out.”

~

Shaggy wasn’t sure how he fell asleep with all the thoughts chasing themselves around his head. But somehow he found himself waking up on that almost-too comfortable bed, curled up with his dog. He felt his worries and concerns from the previous night rise with him, but did his best to push them back.

His stomach reminded him that he hadn’t fed it last night (had, for the first time in his life, felt too nervous to eat). Rousing Scooby he made his way to the kitchen to find out what food they had on hand.

The other three Solars were at the table, going over some maps. “I’m telling you Velma, it can’t be done.”

“Of course it can. No one knows traps like you do,”

“And I’m saying it can’t be- Oh, hey Shaggy.” Fred waved at him. “How’d you sleep?”

“Well enough,” he shrugged lightly. “What are you working on?“

"Breaking into Velma’s old house,” Daphne said, a little cheekily.

Velma sighed. “There’s a book in there about warding off and purifying the effects of necromancy. I think I can use it to start reclaiming Shadowlands. The problem is my security system is keyed to my blood, and it’s from a past incarnation. I can’t get in. I was hoping Fred could get past it, but-”

“Get past this?” Fred gestured to the map. “Velma, the only way to disable this mess is to somehow dodge forty traps going off simultaneously and _somehow_ make it to the panel tucked in the alcove on the far wall. There’s no way I could even come close. That would be like being able to get through all of the traps …in front…of the… Manse….” Fred trailed off, his gaze shifting to Shaggy. “You could do it.”

“M-Me?”

“I saw how you moved yesterday. None of my traps even came _close_ to touching you. We only got you because your friend got caught. You could do it.”

“Fred does have a point.” Velma looked at him. “You’re a Night Caste, right?”

“I still don’t know what that means.” Shaggy reminded nervously.

“Oh, all Exalted, except Dragon-Blooded, are divided into Castes which exemplify their best abilities.” Velma explained. “Zeniths like Fred are natural leaders. Twilights like me are good with obtaining knowledge and figuring out how best to use it. Eclipses like Daphne are born diplomats. I’m guess you’re Caste Mark, er the Sun-Brand, took the shape of a golden ring, right?” Shaggy nodded. “Night Caste. Good at being sneaky and not being caught. Actually trying to keep a Night Caste out of anywhere is damn near impossible. Fred’s right, you could do it.”

“If you want to.” Daphne interjected. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Wards against the undead did sound like a nice idea. And the book was Velma’s so it wasn’t really stealing. Still… “I’m, like, not sure _how_ I did what I did yesterday. My body just did it.” That was somewhat scary now that he said it out loud.

Velma nodded. “You need to catch your mind up with your instincts. We can help out with that. Actually, we should probably help you out with that either way, if you’re up for it.”

So they’d help him even if he didn’t help them. Well, help him more. That decided it for him. Kindness should always be repaid in kind. “I’ll like, do what I can.”

“This is great! Do you think you can help me work on my traps? After all, if you can get through there might be other people who can.” Fred’s face was practically beaming.

“Why don’t we go over the plans while we eat breakfast?” Velma suggested. “It will most likely be a while before you’re ready, but mental prep is as important as physical. You’re a Changing Moon Caste, right Scooby? You could benefit from this as well.

It was strange, Shaggy thought. Two weeks ago he’d have been terrified of these people. But today? Today he’d felt the stirring of something he hadn’t had in quite a while. The wonder if maybe, just maybe, he’d actually found a home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the story I wanted to tell, Shaggy finding his Circle (a brotherhood of Exalts, hence the name of the fic.). I may come to play in this universe again, but no guarentees


End file.
